Michael Jackson - Breaking News

There's always a reason why some artists leave tracks on the cutting room floor. Maybe the production was a little blah, perhaps lyrics just didn’t feel special, or maybe they couldn’t get the vocals to sound just right. Unfortunately, with the release of Michael Jackson’s new (recorded in 2007) posthumous single, Breaking News, all of those seem like reasons why Michael kept this one under wraps while he was living. For starters, it's surprising to hear the normally on point Teddy Riley craft such a bland beat to back Michael’s minimalistic vocals. In fact, there is some dispute as to whether this is even Jackson’s voice or an imposter’s, as his family claims. I’m pretty sure it’s him, but I’d be happy to discover it wasn’t, because this is not a memory I want to attach to the musical genius that is MJ. Something tells me that if he were still around, he's be too much of a perfectionist to let this song see the light of day. Hopefully the rest of the unreleased material on his upcoming album, Michael, will sound better once it arrives on December 14.